The Russia connection: was Polish energy security at risk?

“Such information should be investigated by the Polish services,” Wojciech Surmacz, editor in chief of the Gazeta Bankowa banking and business monthly, told Polish Radio.

He was speaking a day after Poland’s Central Anti-Corruption Bureau said it had entered the headquarters of Ciech and Kulczyk Holding as part of a probe into the privatization of Ciech two years ago.

Polish Radio reported that the late Jan Kulczyk, Poland’s wealthiest businessman, had probably aimed to sell his company’s shares in Ciech to Moshe Kantor, head of the Acron Group, one of the leading mineral fertilizer producers and distributors in the world, and a man believed to be close to Russian President Putin.

Surmacz told Polish Radio: “The Polish chemicals sector is the main buyer of natural gas in Poland and the energy security of Poland could have been endangered.

“Controlling the chemicals sector would have allowed Moshe Kantor … to buy cheaper Russian gas directly from [Russia’s] Gazprom. And to stop using services and supplies from [Polish gas giant] PGNiG.

"That would have seriously weakened the financial condition of PGNiG… and strengthened Gazprom, which would have appeared on the market as the second biggest supplier of gas in Poland.”

Surmacz added, however, that such a situation “never came about because in the meantime a group of people arose in [the Polish] Treasury Ministry that started to counteract it and effectively blocked the takeover of control of the Polish chemical sector by Moshe Kantor.” (pk)

Source: Polish Radio